


Metamorphosis

by unklarity



Category: The Wicked + The Divine
Genre: Ambiguous AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 14:10:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17623871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unklarity/pseuds/unklarity
Summary: The devil, a tree, and a girl. Same old story.





	Metamorphosis

She's been running for what feels like hours, and she lost track of where she was a long time ago. Through alleyways, cutting through buildings, and finally, finally, into the woods at the edge of the city.

Eleanor keeps running, barely stopping to catch her breath. She knows there's almost no chance they'll follow her into the forest, but she's not willing to take the risk. Getting as far away as possible is her only option.

She doesn't stop until her legs give out, and she hits the ground with a muffled thud. The leaves beneath her rustle as she tries to lift herself up. Her body protests with every movement, and she feels the pain start to surface as the adrenaline wears off. She knows she can't keep going now, so she looks around her, realizing that she's in the middle of a small clearing. There's a large tree in the middle, devoid of flowers or leaves, with twisted bark and a strange, almost human-like shape; other than that, the clearing is devoid of anything else. No movement. The birds have stopped chirping, and the wind that she'd been running against is long gone. 

It's too quiet. Every breath she takes seems deafening.

And that's when she notices the light. At first, it's only a flicker in the corner of her eye, and she blames it on the fact that she's exhausted. Eleanor rubs her eyes, standing on shaky legs and turning slowly in a circle, making sure there's no one around. 

"Is anyone there?" she asks the empty clearing. There’s no answer, but after a moment she sees another light flash at the edge of her vision, which she attempts to rationalize as a reflection from the sun, or just her mind playing tricks on her. _No one’s here_ , she tells herself, _you’re just imagining things._ The eerie quiet continues, and eventually, Eleanor manages to calm down, the tension draining from her body and her breathing returning to normal. She’s safe.

With that thought, she sinks down to the ground again, this time a bit more gracefully, and puts her face in her hands, trying to figure out what to do next. She’s far enough away by now that her pursuers have probably given up, but that also means she’s in the middle of nowhere, alone, and it’s going to be dark soon. She has to figure out where to go, at least until morning. She can’t just stay here in the woods.

The wind picks up. She swears she hears a voice laughing behind her, but when she turns her head, no one is there. Just the tree, moving as the breeze ruffles its branches, scattering flowers everywhere.

_No one’s laughing, it’s just the wind._

Eleanor sighs, leaning back until her head touches the ground and trying to take deep breaths. The last thing she needs is to make a stupid decision because she’s panicking. All she needs is a few minutes to compose herself.

_No one is here._

Her last thought before she falls asleep is that when she first found the clearing, there were definitely no flowers on the tree.

-

Eleanor’s eyes snap open to the sound of thunder. A raindrop hits her face. Then another. She uncurls her body, wondering how long she was asleep. The sky is cloudy and dark, but it doesn’t seem to be past sunset yet.

She sits up, trying to ignore the pain in her back from sleeping on the ground, and looks around, trying to remember how she got here. It comes back to her in a flash: running, falling on the forest floor. Finding the clearing, the flowers-

The light. The tree.

_There weren’t any flowers on the tree before._

Eleanor is on her feet in only a moment, looking to the center of the clearing, determined to prove to herself that she was just imagining things. It was exhaustion. There were no flowers, and no strange lights. She looks toward the tree, nearly choking when she sees what’s there.

Or, more accurately, what isn’t there.

Where the tree once stood is a girl about Eleanor’s age, staring at her very intently, seated with her legs crossed and one elbow leaning on her knees. She looks almost unreal; her brown skin is covered in freckles, curly hair a mix of pastel colors, and her eyes are so bright it seems like they’re glowing. Her dress is made of a sheer lace, crawling with moss and ivy that seems to be melding with the forest floor. The girl crooks a finger toward her, not moving from her spot, and before she knows it, Eleanor is within arms’ distance of her, unsure of how she got there.

“You must be so tired,” she croons, with the most beautiful voice Eleanor has ever heard; in that moment, she is absolutely sure she’s dreaming, or hallucinating, or dead. Trees don’t turn into beautiful women, and they certainly don’t talk. This is definitely too weird to be real, and the weirdest part is the feeling that _she’s seen this woman before._

“Who are you?” Eleanor whispers, taking a step back and shutting her eyes tightly. When she opens them, those unsettling eyes are still staring back at her, searching for something. Eleanor feels her face heat up.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already,” the girl says, finally standing, wrapping a hand around Eleanor’s wrist and flipping her hand over, placing their palms together and squeezing. Her hand is so warm, despite the chill in the air. “And after you went through all that trouble.” 

Eleanor has a thousand questions running through her mind at once, but all that comes out is, “I... what?”

“But I knew you would be here, so I decided to come find you for a change. Never mind that I broke the rules a little.” She smiles, rolling her eyes, and all of a sudden Eleanor _remembers_. Just a name, but it’s like a shock to her system.

“Persephone,” Eleanor says, so quietly she barely hears it herself, but the girl’s smile only widens. She lets go of Eleanor’s hand, cupping her cheeks and bringing her face down until their foreheads are touching. “That’s what they call me,” she whispers back, “But what do you call me? I know you remember.” 

Eleanor’s eyes lock with hers, and she can’t look away, can’t move, can’t breathe. All she can think is that the light she saw before is the same as the glowing color of this girl’s eyes, this girl she _knows_. But who is she? 

_Luci, don’t. It’s too dangerous._

A hand in the darkness.

_Don’t worry, Laura, I’ll find my way back._

A train.

_Laura._

She shuts her eyes, and hears that laughter again, this time so much closer. “That’s it,” the girl says. “Now out loud. Laura.”

“Laura,” she echoes, and when Laura’s lips touch hers, she’s falling, like the earth has suddenly disappeared beneath her feet. An arm wraps around her waist, and when she opens her eyes again, the forest is gone, replaced by an endless landscape of grey and black. 

“Welcome back, Lucifer. I’ve missed you.”

All of a sudden, the name _Eleanor_ falls off her shoulders like shed skin, and _Luci_ materializes in its place.

“It’s good to be back,” she replies.

A single light comes to life, illuminating a path in the darkness.

Laura takes her hand.


End file.
